Brooks Laich

During his time coaching the Nashville Predators, whenever Barry Trotz prepared to face the Washington Capitals, he always marveled at their size but never saw it translate onto the ice. Sure, the Capitals could carve through defenses and pour in goals, but Trotz never believed the Capitals posed a serious physical threat. "They might mark us up on the score sheet once in a while, but you never came out of the game going, 'Man, that was a real hard game,'" Trotz said. "It was just a skill game." Those skilled pieces drove the Capitals to six straight playoff appearances between 2008 and 2013, but they never advanced beyond the second round. Now, after a...

Related "Brooks Laich" Articles

After the Panthers won in a NHL-record 20-round shootout on Dec. 16 in Florida, Capitals coach Barry Trotz said, "Chances of that happening again are probably one in a million."
Or about the same as the chances, it seems, of the Panthers...

There are certain teams the Florida Panthers have been able to get away with spotting an early lead.
That is never a good idea against Washington. When the Capitals score first, they usually win (13-1-2).
The Panthers avoided that pitfall, and then...

WASHINGTON, D.C. For 65 minutes the Panthers much-improved defense, particularly backup goalie Al Montoya, held Capitals stars Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom off the scoresheet.
But in the end the stars shined, each scoring shootout goals to...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rookie Andre Burakovsky scored his first two playoff goals and Braden Holtby saved a penalty shot, giving the Washington Capitals a 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Wednesday night for a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference...

During his time coaching the Nashville Predators, whenever Barry Trotz prepared to face the Washington Capitals, he always marveled at their size but never saw it translate onto the ice. Sure, the Capitals could carve through defenses and pour in goals,...